Documentaries Combine With Fiction at FIDLab in Marseilles

Documentaries Combine With Fiction at FIDLab in Marseilles

FID: We know (do we know?) that recently the frontiers of the documentary genre have been pretty well modified. In softening its lines and in erasing its limitations, the FID has enabled this genre to become more porous. Why? For a childish whim? For the pleasure of confusion for the sake of confusion? Of course not. On the contrary, it’s rather out of loyalty to the reality before which the documentary is in awe. For the sake of justice too: to make a place for heterogeneities, for the different, for the wealth of multiplicity and for the intelligence of discovery. This is documentary cinema’s job: to invent for each situation the best film translation of a language and a reality heretofore unimagined. This demands nothing less than an art: the art of testimony. And this art would take advantage of all resources at its disposal. Whether these resources come to it from the cinema—from its techniques and its history—or whether they come to it from the arts, sciences or politics doesn’t matter; the only thing that matters is the accuracy and relevance of the translation. To multiply these translations in order to increase our affinity with the things of this world, such a project, it’s understood, is a work in progress, both open and encouraging.

The documentary genre is at the center of the FIDMarseille’s artistic choices. Championed like an art of testimony with no requirement as to format, the festival welcomes films and artists who play with the transversality of the arts. Three years ago, the festival took the decisive step of welcoming in the official selection fiction films alongside documentaries.

In 2009, FIDMarseille presented about 140 films, for the most part these were films making their international premieres in a rich program made up of the official selection (international competition, national competition, competition of first films), parallel screens, round tables, etc.

JULY 8 – 9, 2010 / 2ND EDITION : AN INTERNATIONAL PLATFORM FOR CO-PRODUCTION SUPPORT11 INTERNATIONAL PROJECTS / PUBLIC PRESENTATION / ONE TO ONE MEETINGS / PROFESSIONAL PANELS

An international platform of coproductions, the yearly FIDLab holds one-on-one meetings between the project holders and the producers, funding bodies, broadcasters and other potential financial backers.

Among the 350 international applications, 11 projects from 11 different countries (France, Italia, Mexico, Norway, Lebanon, Palestinan Territories, Portugal, Switzerland, Tunisia, United Kingdom, United States) have been selected.

The projects have been chosen regardless of length, format, language or subject. More classical ways of writing are next to others using hybrid languages. Two are in script stage, eight in development and one in postproduction.

All these authors have already shown their works in several international film festivals, some of them have seen their previous films released in cinemas or are internationally recognized in the contemporary art world.

The FIDMarseille 21th edition welcomes you from 7th to 12th July 2010:– International competition, French competition,– World and international premieres,– Parallel screens, roundtable, exhibitions, gigs…– A professional space: accreditations, press desk, video library,– 5 screening rooms in the very city center of Marseille.

The FIDLab team hopes that those meetings will be the starting point of fruitful exchanges and long lasting involvements between the project holders and the professionnals.